This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us
improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our
Privacy Policy to learn more.

Lecture

Sephardic Music in the Mediterranean Soundscape

Trace the development of Sephardic songs and singers from medieval Spain and Portugal to North Africa and across the Mediterranean to the Balkans, Salonika, the fabled Constantinople, and back to Iberian lands. Ethnomusicologist and singer Dr. Judith Cohen draws on her many years of research and fieldwork to tell the story of Sephardic people and their songs through images, stories, and historic recordings — as well her through her own singing.

Dr. Judith Cohen is an ethnomusicologist, medievalist, and singer. Originally from Montreal, she has lived in Toronto for many years and teaches in the music department of York University. She is internationally known for her research, publications, and performances of traditional Sephardic songs, and songs of the Sephardic diaspora in the Balkans, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and French Canada. Dr. Cohen has also conducted fieldwork for two decades among the Crypto-Jews of rural Portugal, and is the editor and consultant for the 1952 Spain field recordings of the legendary Alan Lomax, whose Spanish journals she is currently editing. Her work with Sephardic and related music reflects her earlier research on women and music in the three religious communities of medieval Iberia. Alongside her scholarly work, she continues to perform and give workshops on the music traditions she studies.

Get connected. Stay engaged. Sign up for the latest updates from the Aga Khan Museum

Newsletter Subscription

YES! I want to receive emails to learn about upcoming exhibitions, programs, events, and promotions at the Aga Khan Museum and Park.
I understand that I can withdraw my consent at any time by contacting [email protected]
I also understand that if I choose to unsubscribe, I may still receive e-communications that are required or permitted by law.
See our Privacy Policy for details.
The Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive, Toronto, ON M3C 1K1, 416.646.4677, www.agakhanmuseum.org/